


The Day It All Went Down

by AuroraKant



Series: Batfam Week2020 [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Batfam Week 2020, Gen, Meeting the Justice League, Swearing, Time Skips, Which means we know they will be back, and steph, but it is Jason, there is a mention of character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23065495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraKant/pseuds/AuroraKant
Summary: It is every Robin's dream to meet the Justice League. Question is, if the League is ready for them. Well, that is something every single one of them has to find out for themselves.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Tim Drake & Stephanie Brown & Damian Wayne & Duke Thomas
Series: Batfam Week2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1657645
Comments: 18
Kudos: 470





	The Day It All Went Down

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya!   
> I am back!   
> Not with a new chapter for One Step At A Time but with the ambitious idea of completing Batfam Week while I have to write two separate papers! Yay!  
> Hope you have a wonderful World Women's Day! And enjoy!
> 
> Day 1: Overprotectiveness | **Meeting the Justice League** | Meta-Human AU

The Justice League was three months old when Batman finally agreed to let his partner meet the other heroes.

Batman was a myth, a legend, and people had been singing Robin’s praise almost as long. Barry wondered just what kind of person had managed to pierce Batman’s cold exterior long enough to establish themselves as an equal. Especially since Batman hadn’t even told any of them, Earths Mightiest Heroes, his true identity.

So, when a few days ago, the request for a League Meeting, with the purpose of introducing Robin, had come in, Barry had happily agreed. And now here they were, waiting for Batman and his partner. Who were late. As always. Barry had the feeling that Batman did that on purpose, making them wait, just to make his reveals all the more dramatic.

Which didn’t mean that it didn’t work when the double doors to the meeting room suddenly swished open to reveal the Dark Knight and his tiny shadow. Shadow? No, there was no shadow. There was only a child in a red tunic and green scaly pants. What the hell was going on?

“What the hell is going on?”

Apparently, it wasn’t just Barry that was surprised by their guest. Hal’s outburst was definitely fitting and when Barry looked around the room Superman seemed to be the only one not surprised. The all-powerful cheater had probably known.

Batman ignored all of that, instead he stood tall and imposing in front of the room, daring them to say anything more:

“This is Robin. Justice League – Robin; Robin – Justice League. Good? Now we can go.”

The man – the legend – turned around to leave the room again, but Robin had other plans it appeared:

“Hi! Nice to meet you! I am Robin! Which you knew! I just wanted to make sure that you know that Mr. Dark-and-Gloomy over there gets his butt saved by me, like half the time, and that you don’t have to be afraid of him. He is a big-Bat softy on the inside. I swear!”

The kid had spirit Barry had to give him that much, but still…

“You are a kid! You’re what? Eight?”

“Holy Guacamoly, Batman! Didn’t you tell them? Pff! I bet you assumed everyone is as paranoid as you are! Newsflash: Not everyone stalks their new friends!”

All of that had been addressed towards Batman, who stood in the doors leading out of the room and looked as uncomfortable as he possibly could.

“And I am eleven, thank you. I have been doing this Bat-tastic Gig for two years which is like longer than some of you have known they could fly!”

Eleven. That was way too young to be doing any of this, but you could bet that Barry wouldn’t be the one to raise the issue with Batman. Hell, he still had nightmares of Batman appearing in his bedroom at night, sometimes. Oliver had no such qualms:

“Did Bats pay you to say this shit, so we don’t send CPS after his ass?”

“Language!”

“Yes, there are young and impressionable ears in this room!”

Robin nodded sagely in the direction of Supermen when he said that. His partner’s – guardian? – try to reprint Olli for his use of swear words had in no way impressed the young hero.

“Robin. What did I tell you about mocking other people to their face?”

“To only do it if I am pretty sure they can’t kill me? Pff, Uncle Supes over there would never. And you yourself said that his sweet and innocent farm-boy ears aren’t made for the stuff that you hear on the Gotham streets! I am just looking out for him!”

There was a sick fascination that took hold of Barry while he watched mentor and protégé interact. It felt a bit like a nature documentary: wild, unpredictable, and a bit sickening. This was a child. A child, who actually had more crime fighting experience than Barry. And this child apparently knew Superman well enough to call him Uncle and mock him. When Barry dared to glance at the man in question, Superman had only a small smile on his face.

Barry had so much left to learn.

“Robin! Don’t make me say it twice. We are going now. You wanted to meet the Justice League. You met them and now we go.”

“But Batman! I am having soooooo much fun right now!”

“Robin!”

“Okay, okay… Bye, Justice League! Kick some bad-guy butt for me!”

Finally, Batman had managed to cajole Robin from his perch in front of the room towards the exit. In the last possible moment, Robin turned around once more:

“And never forget: Batman loves Beyoncé!”

“Robin!”

The doors closed behind them. Barry realized something really, really weird: Batman was a dad.

* * *

It had been a while since Diana had seen the Robin boy. She liked him. He respected her and her warriors and his puns made Olli stutter, which she found untimely funny. But it had been awhile. When reports of Nightwing came in, Diana had thought the mystery to be over, but a few weeks ago the Gotham Gazette had reported a crime being solved by Batman and Robin. So, what was the truth? Diana was ready to get to the bottom of this, but before she had any need to force Bruce’s hand, the Watchtower announced Batman and a guest.

A guest? Her inquiring gaze found the other heroes in the room, yet neither Green Arrow nor Superman could give her an answer. But then again: Superman was on the outs with Batman right now and Green Arrow had other things to worry about most of the time.

Batman strode into the room followed by a boy wearing familiar colors. Only that said boy hadn’t been this small for literal years.

“What is this, Bruce?”

Superman’s tone was icy, and Diana couldn’t help but wonder just what had transpired between these two great heroes. Neither of them would talk to her.

“This is me taking Robin to meet the Justice League and see their headquarters, Superman”

While Bruce chose to inflict his angry gaze onto Clark, Diana chose to look at the boy by his side. Robin. A new one, as it appeared. The boy was thinner than Dick had been, and also quite a bit lighter skinned. She could see his nervousness in the way he never dared to step out from behind Bruce, and his defiance in the way his jaw was pushed forward. He would make a great warrior. And maybe it was on her to make sure that he knew that:

“So, you are Robin? It is wonderful to meet you”

The boy’s eyes threatened to bulge out of his head when he realized just who had spoken to him. Both Bruce and Clark stopped in their silly virility test just to see what happened next.

“Yes, I am. You must be Wonder Woman. I… I love your work”

Robin had finally stepped free from Batman’s shadow and looked her in the eyes. He was a strong little thing, Diana was sure.

“Well, that is great. Do you want me to teach you some Amazonian Sword techniques?”

“No, thank-“

“Yes! Oh, this is the greatest day of my life! Wait until Penny-One hears this! Dickboy is gonna be so jealous! Yes! Please!”

Where he had been timid only seconds earlier, Robin was now bouncing with energy. It was nice to have a student who was this eager to learn. Diana could understand what Bruce had seen in the kid. And yet her heart bled a little bit every time she was reminded in just what kind of war these children were fighting. Batman no longer was the only one sending children to win his battles, but it still hurt to think that this was necessary.

“Then let us go, little warrior. And you must not worry, Batman, your child is in great care!”

With that she left the squabbling men behind her, choosing the future over the sins of their fathers. Or more clearly: Choosing Robin over Batman.

“Comin’… Oh man, this is the best thing ever…”

“Then I will hope to do you justice”

* * *

Hal feared the day one of them was forced to talk to the Bat about the shit he pulled in Gotham. Ever since the second Robin died, Bats had been going off the rails. And don’t get him wrong, Hal understood how grief fucked one up – maybe even more than most – but they were heroes and in their line of work personal feelings weren’t allowed to affect your performance. So, suck it up Batman and man up. Not that Hal would be the one telling Bats that. Heh, no way in hell. Superman on the other hand seemed to be building up the courage to do just that for weeks now. Some part of Hal wanted to be there when it finally happened. Maybe just to see Batman as human for once.

But before any of that could happen, a general Justice League meeting with mandatory attendance was requested, after some intergalactic conflict between Rimbor and Hu-Xery had suddenly become JL business. And as a Green Lantern, Hal’s presence wasn’t only desired it was really, really necessary.

Hal took his designated place, sorting through his notes, when he realized that there was a commotion happening and for once it wasn’t his fault. When he glanced up, he could see Batman standing in the door. Ah, made sense. The only person attracting more trouble than a Green Lantern at any given point was a Bat. Then again, almost no member of the League had counted on Batman showing up. The man hadn’t done that since his kid died.

“What are you reading?”

“What?”

There was a kid next to him. A child. And Hal hadn’t heard him getting this close, the ring hadn’t warned him either. Was he getting old? Probably. But that didn’t explain the fucking child in the middle of a JL meeting.

“Look, kid…”

“Robin. My name is Robin”

In that moment Hal’s eyes finally decided to work through what he was seeing. Because it wasn’t just some kid. It was a kid wearing the red-green-black uniform of a certain bird. Just this time with pants (and by God was Hal grateful for that). And then the words that had left the kid’s mouth registered. Robin. Another one. His thoughts must have shown on his face because the kid – Robin? – returned his outstretched hand to his side.

“Sorry… Batman said to stay by his side, but you’re Green Lantern, right?”

“Yeah?”

“So, you know what is going on with this incident then?”

“Yeah… probably…”

“Cool, because I was, like, wondering why exactly the Hu-Xery ambassador had said their treaty was faulty on the basis of the Intergalactic Union Treaty of 4122 Sol? That doesn’t seem to be making any sense…”

“It doesn’t. He just wants a reason to start sending war vessels into Rimbor’s space and our quadrant… but look, kid, this is not your place. Why don’t you go back to daddy Bats and take care of yourself, yes?”

The kid had started glowing while they talked about the treaty, but now the life seemed to be seeping out of the boy, only leaving yet another black-haired, pale-skinned body behind. Robin stared down at his shoes, when he whispered:

“He is not my dad…”

The kid left and Hal felt bad. Well, this wasn’t his beer to deal with. He had other things to worry about. At least nobody had to go and deal with Bats now, after all. Seemed like the kid had taken care of that for them. And wasn’t that just a messed-up thought.

* * *

Dinah was still new to the whole Justice League thing. She had been a legacy hero and yet it had taken ages for the League to accept her as a big player. And now that she had reached the holy grail of herodom, she found it to be a glorified boys-club.

Yeah, Wonder Woman was great and there was a small part of her that was hard-core crushing on the legendary warrior, and Zatanna could teach her magic any day of the week, and Hawk Woman had some serious skills with those wings, but… other than that?

There were the Birds of Prey in Gotham, her home, who had definitely more in store when it came to a sweet fight along some sisters, but they were rarely regarded as the Big-League kind of group. They kicked some major ass and yet Batman still felt the need to intervene every second Sunday. The only good thing was that Dinah herself was never forced to interact with any of these crazy Bats and Birds. Oracle was the one who handled that side of Gotham. And Dinah knew Oracle. If Barbara said she handled something, then she did.

And yet here she was: In the heart of the most powerful organization in the world. Honestly? She no longer really understood what all the fuzz was about. She had wanted this and yet… eh.

But still, even Dinah, fresh and new as she was, had hell of a shock when the person behind Batman striding into the meeting room wasn’t Tim, but some girl in a slightly modified version of the Robin costume. At least it didn’t have a boob window. They had to be thankful for the small things in life.

“Thank you all for coming. There is a current case of international human trafficking in Gotham that Robin and I have found to be linked to a multitude of illegal meta fighting rings worldwide and we believe to have the intel to shut them down. Before I start with the briefing, any questions?”

Ah, yeah. There had been a reason all of them had been summoned. And still, Dinah couldn’t keep her hand from rising.

“Black Canary, yes?”

“Who the heck is that in the Robin costume?”

“Robin, of course. Now, any other questions? None. Then let us begin”

Dinah’s gaze found the girl by Batman’s side, a bit of regret visible on her face. But the girl didn’t seem to mind. Instead she appeared to be rolling her eyes at Batman behind her mask, before shrugging off Black Canary’s faux pas of like it was nothing. Dinah could see the Gotham in the way she moved and suddenly Black Canary decided to no longer care who that new Robin was. It was high time that Batman had a female Robin by his side. And heck, if that stunt didn’t work out for her, Dinah would make sure to get her a place on the Birds of Prey roster.

That didn’t mean Dinah wasn’t a tiny bit disappointed when Tim came back as Robin only a few weeks later. It took another few months before Oracle told her that girl Robin had died. The second one to do just that. What a fucked-up world they lived in.

* * *

Batman was dead. No, scratch that: Bruce Wayne was dead, and his son had taken up the mantle against his father’s wishes. Or Clark’s, really. And Clark was still unhappy with Dick’s decision to become the Bat and shoulder the cowl, but he was at a point were knew that standing in Dick’s way would only harm them both. So, instead he uttered an invitation to the Watchtower to a surprised Batman during a maybe not so voluntary team-up.

Now here they were: Clark, Diana, Olli, Barry, Wally, and Guy all waiting for Batman to appear in their Sanctum for the first time in many months. Too many months.

The Zeta Beam powered up, announcing Batman and Robin and – wait? Batman and who? Robin? No, that couldn’t be right! Dick was Batman, Jason running havoc as Red Hood, and Tim searching the world as Red Robin… the only one left… surely, Dick hadn’t… he had.

Batman and Robin stepped out of the Zeta Beam and it was immediately clear that Robin was none other than Damian Wayne, Bruce’s biological kid. The one who was literally raised by assassins. Clark had really been trying but now he had to talk to Dick in a sterner manner. Bruce hadn’t wanted Damian to put on the cape and yet Dick had done it anyways. Why was he even still surprised? He had known Dick since the kid had been ten and even back then he had been a menace. That certainly hadn’t changed with age.

Now that they stood in front of them, one couldn’t help but notice the differences between Bruce’s Batman and the one that looked them in the eyes right now. Dick was smaller, slimmer, there was color in his skin even 16 years of nightly crime fighting hadn’t managed to banish, and his lips were fighting to not curl up into a smile. It might fool a criminal or a casual acquaintance but not the people currently in this room.

And somehow that helped. The oppressing grief Clark felt whenever he though of his best friend’s costume being worn by his nephew eased with the realization that Dick and Bruce were different and that was okay. Instead he did what he should have done months ago; he stepped forward and pulled Dick in a tight hug.

Which was the moment Robin decided to return the attention of the room to himself:

“Unhand him, fiend! You don’t deserve to put your dirty hands on Batman!”

Clark could feel a pricking sensation on his lower abdomen, and when he glanced down, he saw Robin threatening him with a sword. Or not really threatening… more like slightly stabbing his invulnerable body as if to not destroy the blade. It was a tiny bit amusing. But only a tiny, tiny bit.

“Robin! Stand down! We talked about this: No stabbing even if the person can’t get killed from it!”

There was real exasperation in Dick’s voice. It was cute. It reminded Clark of that first time Dick had been allowed in the Watchtower and the loving pain in Bruce’s deep baritone whenever Dick was being a little pest.

“But Batman! He is holding you hostage! It would be impossible for you to escape and that is not a position Batman should ever be in!”

“Now, little grasshopper, watch and learn!”

With that and a grin on his face, Dick shifted his momentum backwards, making Clark stumble just enough for Dick to successfully flip out of his hold and behind him, in a motion that took less than a second. Clark could have stopped him, of course, but he had seen the mischief in Dick’s eyes and had understood that there had been few possibilities in the last few months for Dick to just goof off.

Clark let himself stumble to the ground and stifled a laugh when Wally and Guy started cheering. The little Robin scoffed but Clark thought he could see a bit of pride over the actions of his mentor in his posture. With Superman out of the way Dick returned his focus to the rest of the Justice League:

“Thanks for showing up just to say Hi, by the way. This is Robin. My Robin. I thought, he should see the Tower too, since it became sort of a tradition for us Robin’s after a while…”

For a second there was silence and then Diana stepped forward and motioned for the others to follow her:

“We would love to show you the Watchtower, Robin, and after we finish the tour, I am sure that Superman would be more than willing to let Batman teach you that trick he just demonstrated on him”

Clark nodded. Maybe that was his way of asking for forgiveness. He had left Dick to grief alone; he would do anything to make his burden a bit easier to bear.

“-tt-“

“Robin”

“This seems like a welcome preposition. Lead the way, warrior!”

“Better…”

Robin followed Diana out of the door. After a few moments there were only Clark and Dick left in the room. The latter had a thoughtful expression on his face, eyes locked on the spot were his Robin had stood earlier.

“He has quite the temperament, doesn’t he?”

“This is as good as it gets”

Clark wouldn’t bet on that. Dick could produce wonders. Just look what he did with Bruce, after he started living with him. The kid would meet the same fate. He laid his hand on Dick’s shoulder instead of a direct answer, pushing him deeper into the Watchtower:

“Let’s find the others before Robin dares Wally to do something dumb. We don’t need another fire this month”

* * *

Bruce was back, Robin stayed the same, and Dick returned to being Nightwing. Time moved on. Olli had kind of forgotten that Batman tended to go through sidekicks like some of them went through romantic partners and yet he was still surprised when he showed up to the Watchtower one day for monitor duty just to run into Batman and a kid he didn’t know.

Not again.

Olli still remembered boarding school and Brucie Wayne promising that he would never ever have children because that would be irresponsible. Now look at where they are.

“Hey, Batman, hey, kid, who’s name I don’t know! What you doing here?”

“I am showing-“

In that moment Guy burst through the door, followed by a ball of green fire. Suddenly Olli had more important things on his mind then figuring out if Bruce had yet again adopted an orphan to make up for the burning hole in his soul the trauma had opened up.

Half an hour and one lost eyebrow later, the mess had been brought under control. Neither Batman nor Robin(?), these assholes, looked any worse to wear. The same couldn’t be said for Guy, Olli, or Wally, who had been following the glowing fire ball.

“Who… huff… is the kid with Bats over there?”

“New Robin”

Probably. Olli was at least 60% sure. It had to be enough. And honestly? With Brucie’s track record that was the only logical conclusion.

“Huh… Why hasn’t Nightwing said anything?”

“Maybe it’s still fresh? Maybe the Demon wasn’t happy about it? Just because you’re work husbands doesn’t mean he has to tell you everything”

“Dang”

“Another one? Really?”, Guy exclaimed.

Olli nodded sagely, too amused by the exasperated Green Lantern to notice the looming shadow that slowly came closer and closer. Wally, on the other hand, had noticed the Bat coming closer and said his goodbyes in superspeed before anyone could hold him responsible for anything that had happened in the last hour. Probably safer that way.

“Green Arrow. Green Lantern”

“Bats! How’s it going?”

“Good. Better if instances like the one we just barely survived could be avoided.”

Guy waved his hand, as if he wanted to dismiss such a dumb notion. Instantly Olli knew that that would appear in some memo or written report years down the line. Bruce wasn’t one to forget petty things either fast or at all.

“Yeah, yeah. Another question: Why yet another one?”

“Another what?”

“Another Robin! I mean he must be the… what? Sixth guy to hold that position? And the last hasn’t even hit puberty yet!”

Olli really looked at the kid standing next to Batman for the first time since bumping into him earlier. The kid was a teen, at least 15-years old, and his face told Olli that he was terribly embarrassed by whatever was going on right now.

“Another Robin? There isn’t---?”

“Then how do you explain the kid? You have a problem, Bats! I am telling you: You have a children-adopting-and-putting-them-into-bird-costumes problem! You need help!”

“What? Who told you that this was Robin? This is The Signal, a new hero to Gotham. I was showing him the Watchtower before all of this insanity started…”

That stopped Guy and made sure that Olli wanted to vanish into the floor. Not a Robin. Who could have known? Hopefully Guy wouldn’t rat him out as the one who had spread the misinformation. Everyone could be wrong once or twice. And with Bruce being Bruce, who could really fault him?

“Not a Robin…? But…?”

Guy was awfully pale, and Olli felt bad for his friend. At the same time, he was way too happy not being the one to walk into that mess for once.

“I don’t take every child in and I most certainly don’t put them on the streets in bird costumes just for fun. The Signal is an independent agent and works during the day, for your information, after you asked so nicely, Gardener. If you would now refrain from talking and speculating about my private life behind my back – it is unprofessional”

With a swish of his cape the Batman made his way over to the Zeta Beams, anger in his steps. Olli was kind of happy to have gotten away with just a tongue lashing and a taste of Batman’s own hypocrisy. It was then that Signal spoke for the first time, addressing him and Guy, while his eyes never strayed from Batman’s back:

“Just to be clear: I am his foster kid and my first codename was Lark. So, yeah, there is that…”

“Signal! We’re going!”

“Was nice meeting you guys… bye!”

Guy and Olli looked at each other, contemplating life, this new information, and the fact that this kid definitely fit right in with the crazies that the Bat-Clan was made out of.

“So, I guess, I was right: Bats does have a children-adopting-and-putting-them-into-bird-costumes problem!”

“So, it seems”


End file.
